Edge of the World
by Nightquesttarja
Summary: A shipwreck leaves an infant Hiccup abandoned and drifting on the sea, until a curious little Night Fury hatchling discovers him and decides to bring him back to his nest. A coming-of-age tale.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.**

**Author's Note: *Sighs* All right, I know what you're going to say, but let me explain! Yes, I am still working on To Tame a Land and it's going well! A Dragon's Prey however...I'm still trying with that one! But that story's supposed to be a short one anyway! This story is meant to be a much longer one.**

**This is going to be a tale of adventure and friendship. It's a story I've wanted to do since I began writing for the fandom but never quite had the skill to do. But now, with experience and much studying, I feel I'm ready for it!**

**So I really hope you guys like it, and I guess your response will tell me whether or not it should be continued.**

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><p><em>Edge of the World<em>

_Prologue_

In the time just before their departure to the land of forest and mountains, when the tensions of preparation were at a climax, a little hatchling dragged a tiny bundle of orange fur into the heart of his nest.

The red blossoming of dawn glowed through the shrine of brown jagged, fang-rocks that had sheltered the Night Fury nest for generations, as the cool morning dew settled and collected on the undersides of the peaks.

The little jet black hatchling, no older than two, waddled joyfully across the flat earthy floor of the nest, his bright green eyes swelled with excitement as his short outstretched wings supported the bundle of orange fur.

Two Night Furies watched him approach, both jet black with glowing green eyes and regal posture.

"What do you think our son brings this time?" the mother asked her mate, watching the little dragon bound their way.

The father huffed, the tall figure with tightly woven muscles and total presence, slouching slightly at the action. "Nothing for the benefit of the tribe I wager."

"Father, I found it! I found it! See?" the little hatchling cheered as he stopped just before the two, dancing around the larger dragon.

The bulky dragon stared skeptically at the bundle. "Son, what is this?" he asked, eyeing the strange thing that appeared as a headless fox carcass yet without any visible trace of blood.

"I found it!" he cheered again; tail wagging in anticipation as those generous green eyes darted between the mother and father.

"Check it, beloved." The mother ushered him with a wing.

The male dragon leaned in to sniff it, shot up in alertness as he did and carefully pulled back a loose flap of fur with the blunt side of a talon. His eyes widened with alert as he saw the small bright face of the slumbering human beneath it, features round and soft.

The female companion to his right gasped in horror as he stared back at his son, eyes now intense. "_Where did you find this?_" he demanded, his serious tone riddled with fear.

The father's tone didn't register on the hatchling. He just hopped around, said: "_Water! Water!_"

If it weren't for the hyper youth's head frantically gesturing toward the rock crevasse that led to the ocean, he would have never understood.

_He found this human on the ocean? _He wondered to himself_. But it's merely a hatchling! How could it be capable of swimming? Let alone surviving!_

Feeling as though his attempts at trying to understand this thing were futile, he glanced back at the human, sitting up and taking the infant in his arms away from his son.

The dragon began to protest, "_Mine! Mine! Father, I found it! Mine!_"

"_Son, please!_" he said, gesturing the hatchling to silence as he observed the human more closely. His mate decided to join in this observation as well, drawing her head in near to the human-hatchling.

The human was horrifyingly thin, close to starvation they guessed. The only thing that showed life was the bright auburn hair fluffed atop his head, and those bright red cheeks that looked as warm as huddled flames.

The mates glanced at each other momentarily, a knowing look igniting between them.

The mother drew away from the glance, stared at the pouting dragon before her. "_Son, do you know what this is?_" she nodded toward the human in the male Fury's cradling arm.

The hatchling's eyes shot with excitement, "_Buddy!_" he exclaimed.

"_No!_" the father snapped. "_This is a human. One that's still alive to be precise._"

The little Fury tilted his head at his father. He had never heard of a human before, and his young mind couldn't comprehend that it was different from him.

"_Buddy human!_" he said, confident that he understood what his father had told him.

"_Not buddy._" The father said; his tone serious. He looked back at the human still slumbering. How peaceful he looked!

His heart fell into conflict. He didn't exactly know what to do with this child. He wasn't necessarily a threat, but he couldn't possibly remain here! Their way of life couldn't possibly support a human! He knew also that, as Alpha of the tribe, raising this human would reflect badly on him. Not only because it was a human, but also because the Alpha was to have only one son… But if he cast the child out in this state he would surely die, the sickly little creature!

_By doing this, I'm dooming my life as well as the life of my son…_ he knew, cursing that vulnerable spot of compassion in his heart.

Slowly he lent the infant back to the sullen hatchling, stopped just short of the now-excited dragon's reach.

"_Son, I will allow you to do with this human what you please. However,_" and his tone took on a grim edge, "_he is your responsibility. We will only help you raise him for the first few summers in terms of food and health and teaching. It is up to you to keep him safe and provide warmth for him as well as carry his burden wherever you fly since he has no wings. It is a very demanding responsibility and you must choose now whether or not you wish to support it._"

The little hatchling just wagged his tail as he saw the human, his mouth split open in a wide toothless grin as he took the human into his little wings. "_Buddy human!_" he said, purring into the fleshy face.

The father sighed inwardly as he felt the outraged stare of his mate boring into him. His son obviously didn't understand the responsibility he'd so quickly accepted. But the little hatchling had made his decision and that was the way of it.

He felt his mate's forceful prod, turned to face those outraged eyes.

"_Are you mad?_" she questioned. "_A human in our nest! You're bringing chaos down upon us!_"

"_I know,_" he said. "_But think of it this way: our enemies have one fewer human on their side._"

This didn't seem to bring any comfort to her. She just shook her head as she cast one last sympathetic glance at her son; walked off.

The father looked back to his son, the hatchling's dark head wobbling happily against the sleeping human's as his body curled snugly around him.

As he stared at them one thought remained: _Here's a bond that won't last long._

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><p><strong>Well there you have it! Now I going to be honest, unless this story receives the same response To Tame a Land did with its first chapter, it won't take priority in my life. So the higher the demand of this story, the quicker I'll update it.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Well, I guess you guys have taken an interest in this story. Well I suppose I'll continue to update this story regularly, as long as the response is large enough. So far it's been great!**

**Now for the review responses.**

**Guest: *Returns Thorston twins headbutt***

**Huidaman: Thank you for the kind words! I do review my work before publishing. I try to weed out minor errors and fill areas of the story that feel void.**

**Brenne: In a way I suppose Hiccup could be considered his pet, but I think Toothless will find him more of a best friend.**

**Kiriko the 22 tails: That's a question that you'll have to read to find out!**

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><p>Edge of the World<p>

Chapter 1

The Night Fury heard his father, the Alpha of the tribe, approach his little alcove among the trees by the way the Night Furies dwelling near all ceased their activities to respectively greet and welcome him.

He was six summers aged now and from that time, had learned that a visit from his busy father could only mean something solemn in matter.

He sighed, feeling a longing jolt to be with his human companion whom he had named Hiccup from the strange sounds he would sometimes make. It wasn't meant to be an insult. That human had turned out to be his closest friend! The entire tribe knew there was nothing that could tear them apart…but some still tried…

His father was close enough now for him to see. The tall Fury carried himself in that familiar air of importance, fully present and alert. When his radiant green eyes fell on him, there was a look of scrutinizing pride.

Once he entered the little alcove, the rest of the world was shut from his thoughts, a sign that said he was with his son and not to be bothered.

"_Hard at work, son?_" he asked, glancing at the little pile of wooden sticks stacked before the Fury lying on the stone floor. He moved his glance around the room in search for the human, saw he was not present.

"_No,_" he sighed. "_There's nothing to do around here._"

His father's smile fell; he moved to seat himself next to the smaller Fury. "_There's plenty to do here, son!_" he assured. "_You just need to leave this little hole and go._"

The little green eyes turned to look at him. "_May I go flying now, then?_" he asked, hopeful.

"_You may not._" He said sternly. "_Son, you are well aware of the dangers that exist for a young one such as you. Why don't you play with your human friend? What do you call him?_"

"_Hiccup,_" he said matter-of-factly. "_And he's busy training with mother._"

His father furrowed his brow in concern. "_Why are you not there training with him?_"

"_Because I've already learned that lesson and mother says that I can't be there because I'm too distracting._"

He detected the resentment in his son's tone, pursed his lips. _Not even my beloved is freed from the burden this human puts on us._ "_Son, you must understand how a human living among our tribe impacts others._"

The little Fury plopped his head into his paws sullenly, said: "_Everyone hates him._"

"_Come now, son, you know that's not true. Our tribe…is just not used to living with one who is perceived to be the enemy._"

"_But they're mean to him and he hasn't done anything to them!_" he protested, sounding physically hurt.

"_And they will continue to be mean to him as long as you keep protecting him. You're just making him a target by doing that. Each of us must fight his own battle._"

"_But I have to protect him! They'll really hurt him if I don't!_"

"_Listen, son. One day you will be the Alpha of this tribe. And when that day comes you'll want to be in the good graces of your fellow dragons._"

"_I don't care!_" he snapped. "_If someone tries to hurt my best friend I'm going to hurt them! I don't care how mad they get._"

"_No,_" his father said sternly, voice rising. "_You will not bring harm to a Brother of this tribe! I know you've been angry recently with one of the teens—_"

"_Broken-Scale's been mean to Hiccup, though!_"

He shook his head at the youth. "_I don't want to hear it, son! Now, you will go and make peace with that dragon and no further trouble will come of this. Understand?_"

The Night Fury pouted, said: "_Yes._"

"_I love you very much, son. But I think it's foolish to turn against your fellow tribe mates to protect a _human_ of all things._" With a loving prodding of heads he stood. A smile touched his lips: "_Now I know it's foolish to ridicule you like this for such a negligent matter, you're smarter than all the other youths here. I know you'll make the proper decision!_"

The young Fury forced a smile at his father, watched as he whirled and retreated out alcove, vanishing behind a boulder.

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><p>Hiccup came in later that evening, his patchy, over-sized brown trousers that had been acquired during a raid, flapping as he hopped excitedly, rubbing his head on the younger Night Fury's in greeting. "<em>Toothless! Toothless! I want to show you what I learned today!<em>" he exclaimed.

The Fury smiled at his companion. He always loved his enthusiasm, how it always shone when he completed his mother's lessons. He had to laugh at his voice though—a much higher pitch than any other Night Fury could ever hope to reach. It would probably deepen as he got older, but he'd most likely never reach the deep voice a dragon possessed.

Giggling, he said: "_Show me, Hiccup._"

The human got down on all fours—a thing his mother had relentlessly vetted out of him because it was obvious a human wasn't supposed to move that way—he squared his shoulders and expelled a noise that crossed between a squeaking mouse and a growling puppy.

The alcove went silent as the human stared expectantly at the Fury, "_Whatddya think of my roar?_" he asked sounding proud of himself.

As soon as he said '_roar_' the Fury burst into laughter. "That's_ what that was?_" he asked in disbelief, nearly rolling onto the floor from the hilarity.

Hiccup deadpanned, a slight annoyance curving his lips. "_My roar is good!_" he insisted, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

The dragon sobered from the laughter, said: "_Sorry, Hiccup, but you can't roar._" He said, still chuckling.

"_Oh yeah? Well your mother thought it was good!_"

The Fury furrowed his brow, "_Oh yeah?_" he questioned, smirking.

"_Yeah! She was smiling and she let me leave early because it was so good!_" His bottom lip pushed his upper to the nose to emphasize his satisfaction.

"_Hiccup, she just felt sorry for you and was trying not to laugh._"

"_Not true!_"

"_It is._" He retorted confidently.

Hiccup heaved his chest, "_Well your growl isn't any better!_"

The dragon's eyes went wide in mock surprise. "_You dare make fun of my growl?_ _I guess we'll just have to settle this like _real_ dragons!_" he leaped mid sentence, playfully pouncing on the boy with mock growls.

The human's eyes came alight at this familiar action, he returned the smile, "_I'm too tough for you, Scaly!_" he jokingly retorted, hands pressing against the large black paw pinning his chest.

They rolled across the floor of the alcove, Fury on top of Hiccup, Hiccup on top of Fury. They wrestled, swung playfully at one another; the Fury even engulfed Hiccup's shoulder in his mouth, teeth retracted of course, and lightly shook him. Hiccup tried to reciprocate, but he quickly learned his mouth was much too small.

Despite his shortcomings, Hiccup was still surprisingly strong. He could actually push the Night Fury off of him, even though it was still a small Fury being pushed off, and said Fury could've, at any time, used his talons to tear at his exposed torso to stop him. Still it was surprising to the Night Fury to see the progress this human was making and the thought of what he could accomplish in the future was a bright object poised alluringly in his mind.

Exhausted now, the two rolled away from each other, panting and laughing as they lay sprawled about the stone floor.

"_I won._" Hiccup declared after a moment of no words.

The Fury snorted, "_Ha!_" but didn't say anything else.

The sounds of panting resumed. Hiccup once again broke it, "_Toothless—_"

"_You know you can't call me that, Hiccup._" He informed cautiously.

"_Toothless! Toothless! Toothless! Toothless! Tooth—_"

"_Okay! Okay!_" he said, now rolling back to Hiccup's side. "_But don't call me that in front of my father!_"

Hiccup smiled victoriously, "_Fine._" He said, nuzzling warmly against the dragon beside him. He purred happily into the warm, welcoming side, pressed his eyes closed in relaxation. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but a mighty yawn escaped instead, causing his entire body to stretch out like a feline.

Toothless smiled at his friend, rested a cheek against his auburn hair. "_So,_" he whispered, "_Did you see Broken-Scale today?_"

The boy shifted, in a nod. "_He stared at me. I don't like it._" He opened his eyes now, stared into the dragon's with a pleading spark. "_I don't want to come back alone anymore! I felt better with you._"

Toothless curled around him tighter. "_I'll come with you tomorrow, buddy human. Broken-Scale's just an over-sized hatchling!_" He cooed.

Hiccup chuckled at this, a smile on his face as he closed his eyes and drifted into slumber. And it wasn't long before Toothless did as well.

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><p>The next day, Toothless fulfilled his promise. He walked down the valley with Hiccup to his mother's cave and waited until he got out. He could tell by the relieved look on the human's face when he exited the cave that he was happy to see him.<p>

"_Buddy!_" he greeted, licking the boy's face and nuzzling him.

"_Toothless! I worked on my growl! I'm better now!_" He yelled, returning the lick.

"_Cool!_" Toothless exclaimed. "_We'll see whose is better when we get back._"

This excited Hiccup and he began walking quickly away from the cave. "_Let's go!_" he said not even turning back to check on the dragon's position.

Toothless just laughed and darted to meet up with the boy. Without him his life was empty!

They walked for a while, conversing wildly about their skills and arguing about who was strongest.

"_I've got wings!_" Toothless said. "_There's nothing you have to fly._"

"_So?_" he stubbornly questioned. "_I can just…uh…_"

"_See? There's nothing that can beat flying!_"

"_Well I could—_" he suddenly stopped walking, causing Toothless to nearly trample him.

"_What is it?_" Toothless asked, eyes questing in alert.

Hiccup pointed to the left, "_Broken-Scale._" He whispered.

The jet black dragon stared at them from his lying position, the mere stillness of his eyes were threatening to them!

Toothless nudged the boy to keep moving. "_Just ignore him._" he informed.

Hiccup nodded and met Broken-Scale's stare, narrowing his eyes at the dragon. _You can't hurt me while I'm with Toothless!_ He remarked mentally.

But Broken-Scale did a strange thing—he _smiled!_ It was a strange smile that sent shivers down Hiccup's back. And then he got up and began walking their way.

Hiccup pressed his head urgently into Toothless' neck, whispered frantically: "_He's coming! He's coming!_"

Toothless felt a moment of panicked anger cross him, turned to face the larger dragon. As he turned around he felt a forceful head ram his side, sent him sprawling across the grass.

Broken-Scale got right up in Hiccup's face, snarling with his teeth fully visible, and eyes forcing him onto all-fours.

"_You think you can mock me, little runt?_" he growled.

Other Night Furies in nearby were staring now, assuming a fight was about to transpire.

Hiccup felt a fear so heavy in his stomach that he thought it was going to weigh him down. His arms and legs trembled as he stared at the large dragon in his face. But there was a strange feeling inside him, one that forced him to say: "_You hurt my friend, you over-sized hatchling!_"

The dragon's pupils went thin in Fury and steam vented from his nostrils. He let loose an earth-trembling roar as he spun around.

Hiccup had no time to react, that large tailfin whipped him right in the face, knocking him, disoriented, onto the ground. Tears stung his eyes from the painful strike, and he weakly tried to get up. But the Fury darted over him snarling angrily. "_I'll kill you, human!_" he roared. He prepared to send his teeth into him when a force knocked the dragon from him.

Freed, Hiccup shakily got to a seated position, the errant tears from his eyes mixing with the line of red flowing from his nostril and from a bust on his lower lip. The first thing he saw was a heated battle between two Night Furies. He saw Broken-scale on top, snarling over and snapping his jaws at…_Toothless!_

Seeing his best friend in danger, he fought back the pain and rushed up to Broken-Scale, bit down forcefully on his tail.

Broken-Scale howled to the sky as Hiccup's teeth sank through the scale-less skin. He immediately went to attack the human when Toothless lashed upward, grabbed the Fury's neck in his mouth and rammed him to the ground. Once he was on top, Toothless roared furiously into Broken-Scale's face, holding it out until the dragon submitted.

They jumped off of him as Broken-Scale stood and sent them a murderous glare. He then turned and limped off.

Toothless was at Hiccup's side in an instant, supporting his shaken friend with an outstretched wing. "_Bud, are you all right?_" he asked frantically, licking at the tears and blood on his face.

Hiccup nuzzled into his side, said through a trembling voice: "_We fought him off! He's gone!_"

But Toothless shook his head, grimly. "_No. He's going to tell my father…_"


End file.
